Page 12 of Luke

Sympathy entered his eyes. "Damn. I'm sorry, Lizzie."

"So that's why I needed a new job and a place to live. Your father was a lifesaver. I don't know what I would have done without his help."

"I had no idea." He ran a hand through his hair. "That's rough. Kelly was great, and Brian was a good guy, too."

"It's been really hard, but we're doing okay."

"Are you? Kaitlyn seems like a handful."

"She's having a difficult time," she conceded. "I can't blame her. Her entire world was shattered. I'm just hoping that being here in the mountains will be good for her. She would have rather stayed in LA, but it wasn't a good environment for her in her present angry and rebellious mood." She took a breath. "I am a little worried about what's going to happen now that you're here." A gleam sparked in his eyes, and she realized her choice of words had taken him down the wrong path. "Not personally—professionally," she said quickly. "I don't want to lose my job. I hope you'll give me a chance to show you that the resort could be a good investment for you."

"I'm not really about investments, Lizzie."

"There are other benefits. Look where you are—Yosemite Valley—one of the most beautiful places on earth. And it has all your favorite things: rock climbing, rafting, camping…you might want to keep it. You might want to stay here sometimes when you're not on the road."

"That's almost never."

"Then it won't really be a burden for you. Things can keep going just the way they have been the past six months. I can work through your dad's lawyers. I can send you reports in email. You don't have to come here, live here, or even talk to me." Her pitch sounded a little desperate, but she didn't have time to come up with a better argument. She had the sense that Luke wasn't going to stay here long enough to see how much more potential the resort had. And maybe he wouldn't want to help her because of their past.

Luke cleared his throat. "I need to think."

She was a little surprised by his response. The Luke she knew acted first and thought about it later. Maybe he'd changed—hopefully in a good way. "Okay. You should think. And you should spend some time here, get to know the place. We start serving lunch in ten minutes if you're hungry."

"I am hungry," he said, as if happy he could make that one decision. "I'm going to stash my things, and then I'll be back."

"Great," she said, forcing a smile.

As soon as he left, her smile faded. She'd really thought the worst was over for a while. She'd been wrong about that.

Well, she wasn't going down without a fight, because this wasn't just about her future; it was also about Kaitlyn's.

She just wished Colin had left the resort to one of his other sons. She could have dealt far more easily with Knox or Gabe or any of Luke's other brothers. But it had to be Luke. And knowing Colin, she had a feeling that was not at all a coincidence.

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